Sliding door on 98 windstar- says it is ajar when door is closed

The door ajar light on the dash is on saying there is a door ajar. all the doors are shut tight and I have cleaned the contact points on the door several times to no avail. usually the door locks will loch whent he van starts to move but will not do so cause of the door ajar. Also since this is happening it will make it so the interior lights in the van will not shut off and will drain the battery. I had to remove the bulbs so i can keep that from happening. PLEASE HELP!!

Must be a break in the wiring somewhere and will not be a quick task to check unfortunately, sorry but you will probably need auto electrician unless you feel up to checking it all your self if so check the contacts with an auto probe to see where youhave feeds and where you have earths then check others till you see a break in the pattern or better still if you have or can get wiring diagram then follow it through.

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Had same problem with my 98 windstar. I checked all the doors to see which door it was and found it was the sliding door. I try w40 did not work i guess sensors were to worn. The only solution was to take sensor from the door and cross the black wires. It works no more light on.

You should have a switch that controls your dash lights so you can make the lights brighter at night. See if that switch is tuened all the way up. Turn it the opposite direction and see if your lights go out. Hope this helps Leave comment.

Sound like one of the door jamb switches is bad. Try taking a pencil or screw driver and pushing in on each door switch. Push the switch beyond the "flush" point to see if the switch is just not fully closing.

Remove "Door Ajar" switch. Clean the switch and use a graphite type lubricant (I recommend "Dry-Slide") to lubricate the actuator on the switch. Reassemble the switch.

The switches are located inside the door panels, attached to the catch mechanism.

1) Remove interior door panel.

2) Using a T-27 Torx driver, remove the 3 bolts holding the catch in the door.2a) The door ajar switch is the only part on the mechanism with the 2-wire harness.2b) The switch is located at the rear catch for the sliding door.

3) Using a small flat screwdriver, gently lift the black tab on the catch mechanism and rotate the switch to remove it from the catch assembly.

4) Using a rag, clean the small round actuator and apply a small amount of graphite lubricant to the actuator and work the switch so it moves freely.